CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) office announced on Friday morning that the CCC Council of Presidents has voted to delay the start of the fall sports season, with hopes of conducting seasons in the winter and spring of 2021.

In addition, intercollegiate competition in all conference-sponsored sports will be suspended until at least November 1.

Schools will have autonomy to conduct practices, weight training, conditioning and other team activities in accordance with campus, local, and state policies, while also coordinating with the NAIA approved 24-week period.

Speaking on the decision, conference commissioner Robert Cashell stated: "The ongoing issues with COVID-19 and the surge in cases—in particular in the geographically regions of our members schools—has made the prospect of properly conducting a fall season with the confidence we need to ensure the health and safety of our student-athletes during this pandemic unrealistic."

The sports at Corban affected by the decision are volleyball, men's and women's cross-country, men's and women's soccer, and men's and women's golf.

At this time, no decision has been made regarding action related to the winter sports of men's and women's basketball or men's and women's wrestling. The CCC will continue to monitor the fluid situation surrounding COVID-19.

"We communicated with the national office that we were looking at this option for the CCC, and encouraged the NAIA to also take a hard look at doing the same," stated incoming Council of Presidents' Chair and Bushnell University President Dr. Joe Womack. "While we all want to have our student-athletes compete at the highest level—which is in a national tournament—we believe if we can provide a robust conference schedule and a CCC Championship experience in the spring that is safer and provides more stability, we owe it to our schools to try and do so."

Committees, made up of sport coaches and administrators throughout the conference, will begin working on what the revised fall-sport schedules will look like, while also addressing standard start dates for each sport to begin practices.

If the NAIA were to mimic the CCC's decision by moving fall sport championships to the spring, the CCC retains the ability to opt back into the NAIA's revised structure and the conference would adjust its schedules accordingly.

Stay tuned to CorbanWarriors.com for the latest details surrounding the implications of today's decision, with new information being released as soon as it is made available.